How Your Target Customers Find You Online

We certainly live in a post-phonebook world. Today’s consumers do the majority of their searching and researching online. For that reason, small businesses that want to be discoverable in this digital age need to purposefully seek out ways to make it easier for their target customers to find them online. In this article, we’re going to explore how you can make that happen.

Here are three ways that your target customers are likely to find your business online:

They find your business through Internet searches.
Nothing compares to the power of search when it comes to gaining digital exposure. The trick is to determine precisely what it is that your target customers are searching for so that you can target those key words with a carefully crafted SEO strategy. The better your business’ SEO, the more likely your target customers are to find your services when they actually need them. There are plenty of reasons to consider bolstering your SEO efforts. Check out this article for a few of the most compelling.

 They find your business on their preferred social media platform. Relatively few small businesses are really doing enough with social media. A mere decade ago, a person would’ve been laughed off the business stage for suggesting that in a few short years there would’ve been an online platform with billions of members that allowed you to pursue your target customers for free. But that’s the reality of social media these days. It costs you absolutely nothing to set up a profile for your business and start seeking followers. And for a ridiculously modest investment, you can actually promote your page through the platform and see to it that your posts and ads end up in front of the eyes of the right customers.

They find your business on online directories.
In the old days, consumers found their preferred service providers by leafing through the phone book. Today, those bulky vestiges of a bygone age are all but obsolete – but the format remains. Nowadays, your business is much better off being listed in an online directory that has a strong reputation and solid digital presence. By placing your business’ contact details on a well-regarded online directory, you’re creating multiple advantages for your company. First of all, potential customers will naturally feel more confidence in your company when they find it listed on a reputable site. But there are also SEO benefits to be enjoyed, so long as the directory has a good search engine ranking to begin with. If you’re looking for potential directories, Thomson Local provide free listings for local businesses.

Whilst getting your company online by no means guarantees success, it certainly hints at the reality of a much more equitable age in advertising. Small businesses are well-positioned to capitalise on the trend toward e-commerce and other digital habits. And for the first time in history, the smallest company can achieve global reach – at least in terms of exposure – with remarkably little investment.